I'd like to give you all a warm
welcome to our worship here this evening. Let's ask the Lord's
blessing, let us pray. O Thou most merciful and gracious
Lord God, we ask Thy blessing upon our worship here this evening,
and that Thou hast accompanied Thy Word with divine power, and
that the Lord Jesus Christ might be made precious, and that we
might be drawn to Thee, to Thy Word, and to Thy Ordinances of
thy house, O Lord, do be pleased to bless us with faith mixed
with what we hear, and help us to sing thy worthy praise. We
ask through thy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Hymn, 130. Tune, Nearer Home 83.
Omit v5 in singing Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God, the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2. If you
have one of our free Bibles, it's page 1009. 1009. Acts chapter
2, we'll read from verse 14 through to verse 47. This is the day
of Pentecost. after the Holy Spirit had been
given, and those there were speaking in tongues they had not learned,
and others were understanding what they were saying as they
glorified God. This is Peter's sermon from verse
14. But Peter, standing up with the
eleven, lifted up his voice and said unto them, Ye men of Judea,
and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken
to my words. For these are not drunken, as
ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken
by the prophet Joel, and it shall come to pass in the last days,
saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young
men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my
handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit and they
shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in heaven
above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapour
of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness and the moon into blood. before that great and notable
day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass that
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these
words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you, by miracles and wonders and signs, which
God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and full knowledge of
God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Whom God hath raised up, having
loose the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holden of him. For David speaketh concerning
him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on
my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my
heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh
shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the
ways of life, thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely
speak unto you of the patriarch David, that is both dead and
buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne, he, seeing this
before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was
not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This
Jesus, whom God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses, therefore
being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth
this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into
the heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of
Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom
ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they
were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, and to the
rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent
and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and
to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as
the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did
he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward
generation. Then they that gladly received
his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto
them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly
in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul,
and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all
that believed were together, and had all things common, and
sold their possessions and goods and parted them to all men, as
every man had need. And they, continuing daily with
one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to
house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
praising God and having favour with all the people. And the
Lord added to the church daily, such as should. be saved. Lord bless to us that reading
of his holy word and help us as we come before him in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord God of heaven and of earth,
we thank thee for thy word and that which we have read, the
gift of thy Holy Spirit paratending the preaching of the Word, many
thousands added unto the Church, in a pattern given to us and
to the Church to the end of time, how it should order the entrance
into the Church of God. We thank Thee for Thy Word. We
pray that we likewise might be brought into conviction of sin,
that we might be brought to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that
we might be brought to then be baptised in thy name and to join
around the table to show forth thy death till thou dost come. We do seek, Lord, that thou hast
blessed each gathered here and that we might be numbered into
thy visible church and that thou hast begun a work where thou
hast not already begun and where thou hast begun do gently lead
on and do direct and guide into the way that thou hast have thy
people to walk in. Be pleased to use thy word that
thou hast given us this evening to that end for the good and
strengthening and encouraging of the people of God. We do say,
Lord, that we might truly be given a godly jealousy for those
great blessings of being thy children, heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ, to have a hope beyond the grave. And we do thank
thee where thou hast given us that, and those that long for
it and desire the assurance of an interest in thee. Lord, be
pleased to hear their cries, see their tears, and do be pleased
to answer their petitions and fulfil them and sweetly draw
after Thee. Lord, we come before Thee in
confession of our many sins and iniquities. Oh, wash and cleanse
us, renew the spirit of our minds. Do grant unto us a tender conscience
and the fear of the Lord, a hatred of sin and love of holiness.
and that Thou dost renew us unto repentance, and that daily we
might confess our sins in turning unto Thee. O Lord, do grant that
we might also confess before Thee as we do, not only our own
sins, but the sins of us as church and people, sins of a company,
and sins of a nation. Lord, we are part of the nation. We do mourn Thee. decision made
by our Parliament on Friday to bring the assisted dying bill
to another stage in the legislative process, and we do pray that
thou would yet overturn it for good, that thou would stop this
bill, that thou would bring forth from it increased help for palliative
care and that thou wouldst be pleased to raise awareness of
death and of that which is before us each. Lord, as it was highlighted
in Parliament, that many do not wish to speak or even think of
death, and this bill has brought it to the forefront and made
it to be. debated even in our parliaments. And so, Lord, do use it for good,
as Thou didst take Balaam's curses and turn them into blessing.
So do be pleased to do this. But Lord, if you could please
thee to prevent this from coming into law in this land. O Lord,
hear the cries and prayers of thy people in mercy. Lord, we
confess that we have forsaken thee. We mourn that as far as
we were able to hear, none stood up and testified to being a Christian
and that what they were doing was based upon thy word. or even
to bring thy word to the knowledge of Parliament. And yet, humanists
could stand up and testify to being a humanist, and that what
they were saying and doing was according to their beliefs. O Lord, do be pleased to remember
those in Parliament. We thank thee for our own representative
who voted against it, and Lord, we pray that others like hers
profess Christians might be given a voice, and unashamed of thee
and thy word, to be able to speak in Parliament. O Lord, we thank
thee for the way that the debate was conducted, and that we do
have order in our land. We do thank thee for that. We
thank thee for the freedom of worship that we have, and the
process of government O Lord, we do thank Thee for these things.
We pray for those in other nations, in Russia, in China, in North
Korea, where they do not have that ability to lobby government,
to pray for them, to expect a change. O Lord, we do thank Thee for
liberties that we have and we pray for those that do not have
these. We pray for other nations. We
think of Australia and Holland and Canada and other nations
that already have this legislation and ability, the pressure upon
the elderly to take their own lives. O Lord, we pray for them. We pray for Thy people in those
nations and do Remember all that have been affected by such legislation
or has touched their own lives, their own loved ones. Lord, support,
help them and comfort them in the path that they have walked.
We do pray for all that are in authority over us. We do pray
for them that they might seek thee and be given wisdom and
help in the decisions that are made in our parliaments. Lord, we do pray for all that
are in bereavement. Do comfort them. Be with those
that are sick and those that are dying. Remember those receiving
treatment and do bless the treatment that they are receiving. Lord,
do give relief and grace and help, especially where pain is
felt and continuing. pain and afflictions. Lord, we
need that grace and help from thee. We're not able to bear
these things ourselves and we do pray for help for each one
that greatly feels the need of it. We do pray for us each here,
do grant thy blessing upon us as a congregation, as a church
here this evening. and do be pleased to bless each
soul, and those not with us, and those that gather online,
we commit them each unto Thee. We also pray for those who shall
hear Thee preach word here through recordings. And we do pray Thy
blessing, whether they be from this land or in other lands,
we thank Thee for this means, that Thy word may be sent forth
throughout this world. We ask thy blessing upon the
Bibles that are sent forth from this church, and that many might
be converted through that means, that there might be that fruit
following. We thank thee for the provision
that we're able to continue this work. We thank thee for the support
of the dear friends in the support of this cause. Lord, do bless
them in their giving. Lord, we do seek of thee that
each soul that desires thy blessing upon us here, that we might desire
with them and see yet that blessing. The Lord hath done great things
for them. The Lord hath done great things
for us, for all we are glad. We pray for this town and for
those in the surrounding area. Pray for the young people who
come from varying lands to learn at Cranbrook. grammar school,
and as they pass the chapel, as many of them no doubt have
taken Bibles, may be to take them back to their families in
other countries. Lord, may thy blessing be upon
the young that are brought to this town for that purpose. Lord, may it be that thou hast
another purpose, a special purpose, a saving purpose for those young
people. O Lord, who grant there might
be that generation to serve Thee, that Thy blessing be upon the
young, the children, and that Thou hast work in their hearts.
O Lord, we thank Thee for every blessing, Thou the good, the
gracious, the long-suffering God. We especially thank Thee
for our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the precious blood shed
at Calvary. We thank Thee for Thy Word in
our own tongue and the Gospel, Lord, we do thank Thee, Thou
art so good and merciful, that Thou hast provided that remedy,
a hope in Thyself. Hope Thou in God, Lord, do grant
that to be each one of our hope here. Now, Lord, do keep us from
sin, we enter upon another week, keep us through it, and may it
be a week of blessing. to guide and teach each one,
we commit it unto Thee. And Lord, do help us now, guide
our footsteps in Thy word, command Thy blessing, grant faith to
be mixed with what we hear. O Lord, we commit ourselves into
Thy kind hands. We ask through our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. Amen. Announcement, Scott Willing,
I'm expected to preach here on Thursday evening at 7 o'clock
and next Lord's Day at 11am and 6.30pm. The collections taken
for the cause during November amount to £1,120.40 for which
we sincerely thank you. The Lord bless you in your giving. and not only for the cause but
other giving to us as a church and pastor as well. Hymn, 632. Tune, Moxon 757. Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to the gospel according to Mark
chapter 16 and verse 16. Mark 16, the last chapter, and
verse 16. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16 verse 16. This is the word that follows
our Lord's commission to his dear disciples and to each of
us that stand in his name. Go ye into all the worlds and
preach the gospel to every creature. And our text is the promised
effect of the preaching of the gospel. It has pleased God through
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Joined to believing in our text
is being baptized. You will notice that those that
are damned, baptism is not mentioned there. Baptism is not requisite
for salvation. But those that truly believe
and that wish to follow the Lord, then they will, out of love and
obedience, be baptised. It is joined here together with
believing. The two go together. The most solemn word here is
to those that do not believe. Those that do not believe, they
are damned, they are lost, they are under already the sentence
of death and the wrath of God. And they shall remain that way
until they are brought to believe. The great blessing of being a
believer should be very, very evident. It is passing from death
unto life. It is the mark that God gives
to his children and bound up with it is eternal life and to
be eternally with the Lord forever and forever. There can be no
greater blessing than to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, to
be saved from the wrath to come. There's no greater sadness and
condemnation to be of those who do not believe. What is upon my spirit this evening is not so much the blessing that
is bound up with being a believer, but what a believer gains by
baptism. Baptism is for believers, not
unbelievers. However, there are those, there
have been those that I've known that I've no doubt whatsoever
of being a child of God, and they have never been baptized. They never saw the need of it.
They couldn't see why they should. My desire is that those that
are believers do see the need, why they should. And what is
gained? They can't gain heaven, they've
already got that. But what is gained? By being
baptized, and we might add by implication in that, what is
lost by not being baptized and not being obedient to the Lord's
command. I want to then look this evening
firstly at what is a believer, because obviously this is very
central to being baptised and to obtain the benefits and blessings
of baptism. Then I want to just briefly look
secondly at the ordinances that are joined to believing. And then lastly, what believers
gain by baptism. But firstly, what is a believer? Many of us will have preconceived
ideas, perhaps ideas that have come from obituaries, autobiographies,
or through those that we walk with, and they may even amount
to something of what Nahum and the Syrian had an idea, I thought. When it came to his healing,
his washing, he thought that Elisha should do some wonderful
thing, he should come out, he should stand, he should call
upon the name, of his God, put his hand on the place, recover
the leper. He got it all mapped out. It is easy for us to map out,
Lord, if I'm a believer, if I'm saved, then this must happen,
this must happen, and this. And we must be very careful to
not limit the Holy Spirit in this. All of God's children will
be brought to be as sinners and feel to be sinners, but I know
some of the Lord's people that were brought into gospel liberty,
and I think the late Mr. Warboys was one of those, was
brought to joy and believing in gospel liberty before he was
actually then brought to be convinced as a sinner. And the Lord doesn't
always follow the same line and same pattern. But there are some
things that will be very clear and what is vital. And I want to then look at those. There's two main aspects. Our Lord is very clear in John
3, ye must be born again. There must be spiritual life
given. We spoke this morning, part of
the sentence that was passed upon our first parents and upon
us was spiritual death. In the day that thou eatest thereof,
thou shalt surely die." And the sentence is in three parts. Firstly, it was die spiritually,
incapable of communion, knowing, feeling, responding to God at
all. And then secondly, physical death,
as happened even to those that lived hundreds of years, in the
end they died. And then thirdly, eternal death,
after death the judgment, and then banishment forever in hellfire. And it's important to realize
part of that sentence was spiritual death. There are some that think,
well, there's something still capable in man to respond to
the gospel of himself. It doesn't need the Lord to instigate
salvation. It doesn't need the power of
God. It does. It does need it. But we are told this as well,
that when we preach the word, we are assured as the apostles
were, They had a tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with power
from on high. Now as the word is preached,
we do not know as the preacher and you as hearer, the Holy Spirit
does not come as it with a banner and say, now I'm going to apply
the word, now it's going to be with power. Yes, I've had, and
it was at the, The last service of my probation here, and I've
never known it actually since, in the pulpit before, as I've
seen in the middle here, before standing up to preach, to actually
feel the power of God on me. And immediately after that service,
the young lady that was playing the organ went back to her mother,
said she must go forward and must be baptised. But I always
remember how I felt at that time. There are some times we can feel
very much in the pulpit, but generally it is not so. The work
of the Spirit is known by His work. He shall receive of mine
and shall show it unto you. as our Lord spoke of the new
birth, so gentle and like the wind, you don't know where it
comes from, whither it goeth, so is everyone that's born of
the Spirit. So we preach the Word, don't
be looking like Naaman for special things, but it is special to
just have a hearing ear, to receive the Word, to the Word to enter
and take effect, but we need that spiritual life first, and
then having that spiritual life, then we need that full assurance
of faith in Christ, and that will always follow the new birth. Now what are some of those evidences,
indicators, that actually we are spiritually alive? Now first of all, I say that
there is a change. Those that are in Christ, Paul
says, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things
are passed away. All things become new. Those who have never had the
new birth, you can't explain it to them. They don't know two
sides. They don't know the difference.
But those who have had that change, We'll know a difference. Newton says that I once was blind,
but now I see. And we think of former members
of our church here that described when the Lord began to work,
the Bible became a new book, Hembook became a new book. They
started to see and hear with different eyes. The second thing
is this, a beginning of real prayer. The Apostle Paul, of
course, as Saul, a Pharisee, was one that did pray. Pharisees made long prayers.
But our Lord gave the comparison where he spoke the parable of
the two in the temple, two praying, two praying people. And one was
a Pharisee, He only could speak of his good works, the things
he was looking for something in himself to bring to God. You
know how easy that can be? You might think your prayers
are poor and you have such poverty within. We can be subconsciously
thinking, I want something good to bring to God. Not to just
have to cry for mercy and to be begging for mercy, but it
was the public and that went home justified. I know I've said
many times here, how many times in scripture the Lord brings
two things to comparison. There it is with prayer, we have
it there right with Cain and Abel, two worshippers. one worshipping
after God's order with a blood sacrifice, the other one after
his own work springing of the fruit of the field. And the Lord
clearly set his seal upon that blood. When I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. And so with prayer, it is a beginning
of real heartfelt prayer, a difference in prayer. Sometimes it might
be quite small and subtle, especially if we've been brought up well
and under the sound of the truth and have known outwardly what
prayer looks like. But it's a very different thing
when it's squeezed out as a sinner. Then thirdly, there's a hearing,
a hearing for spiritual things. Our Lord so emphasised this nearly
at the end of all of his parables, He that hath an ear, let him
hear. At the end of each letter, the
seven letters to the churches in Asia, he that hath an ear,
let him hear to what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Our
Lord is a good shepherd, he says, my sheep, they hear my voice
and they follow me. And before it's ever spoken of
what they hear, it is that they do hear. they do begin to hear
the word preached and hear it as they haven't heard it before.
The natural man receiveth not the things of God, neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But one
that is made spiritually alive will discern and start to discern
the things of God. then there will be a real concern,
a concern for the soul, a mindfulness of sin. Something that, if we're
asked, are you concerned about your soul? Are you concerned
about your sin? That your answer would as involuntary
be, yes, I am. You might say, I don't feel I
am as concerned as I should be. You might feel, and no doubt
will feel, that relative to the great issues involved, your concern
is not great enough. But there's a great big difference
of having no concern and to really having a concern. And we may
say with that, where does that concern go? Is it only when you
walk in the door of the chapel, when the minister starts to preach,
you think, oh, I better think about my soul? Or is that concern
day by day, and sometimes in the night season as well, you
are still thinking, you are still concerned, about your soul. Religion is not something belonging
to one day or one compartment, but it is now affecting your
whole believing. The Apostle Paul said that what
I am, I am by the grace of God. And no one can say, well, Paul,
no difference between before you were converted and after.
His life was transformed. The company that he is with was
completely opposite. a complete change. Then there is the people of God
that begin to be loved. It's one of those clear tokens
that John gives in his epistles that we know that we have passed
from death unto life because we love the brethren. And sometimes
it may come and sweep over you, real love to the brethren, something
that they may say or do or just sweeps over you, or otherwise
it may well be that like being let go, like the apostles, they
went back to their own company, a change of desire, a desire
to be with the people of God, to hear them, to speak with them,
rather than the company of those that seem to have no concern. trifling, and don't desire the
things of God. And those things are some of
those things that give evidence of the new birth, the spiritual
life. And if that is so, then there
will invariably, there must, if it is God's word, because
he says, he which hath begun a good work in you will perform
it unto the day of Jesus Christ. You cannot think that God will
give a concern and never then point to the remedy. He will
show sin, but he won't show the sinner's friend. He will give
a hearing ear, but only cause that ear to hear the law. Yes, the law will be heard at
first. The law is a schoolmaster under
Christ. But there'll be no rest, no comfort,
no joy in the law of God. they'll be looking for that which
is found and found alone in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the Lord
will lead on and will teach and will instruct. They shall all
be taught of God. Great shall be the peace of thy
children. Those that have the new birth
will grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. Whether that is a short work
or a long work is in the Lord's hand. But it should be our desire,
and it would be where there is life, a hunger and thirst after
righteousness, a desire for the things of God, a hanging upon
the Word of God, a listening to what the Spirit saith unto
the churches, If you're in that position, do be encouraged. Keep listening, keep praying,
keep watching, keep waiting. Mark sometimes the way, sometimes
it's helpful to look back and to think, say a couple of years
back, what am I now that I wasn't then? And to mark especially
where the Lord has opened up specific truths and parts of
His Word which beforehand were shut to you, and where the Lord
Jesus Christ is made precious, where you see a beauty in Him
in one aspect and then in another aspect, and where you have been
drawn to Him, where you may have felt like the two on the way
to Emmaus, their heart burned within them. When did it? When
the Lord was speaking, when the Lord was preaching, in all the
Scriptures concerning what? Anything? No. Concerning Himself. And that's what touched their
hearts. And so we may be encouraged,
even though we may not yet have assurance, may not yet know that
we are a full believer in the Lord and able to really trust
in Him. Yet still there is a real hope
the Lord has begun and that He is working and to wait on, pray
on. There's many blessings in the
Word that are spoken to those that are waiting for His salvation. And this is not just a careless,
fatalistic, if I'm saved, I'm saved, if I'm not, I'm not. If
you and I are quickened into life, then it's an urgent thing. It will weigh heavy upon you.
You want to be saved. You want to be found in Christ. You want to walk. in his ways
too. And so, you might say, what are
those that really mark out the assurance of a child of God as
being one of God's children? I just mentioned three. One is
joy and peace in believing. You know, if we're questioned,
are we really a believer? If we are a believer, it will
touch our hearts. Unto you, says Peter, that believe,
he is precious. And Paul desires for the Romans
that the God of hope would be with them and give them all joy
and peace in believing. And it is through the power of
the Holy Spirit. He is he that brings that. Our Lord said, in me you shall
have peace in the world. he shall have tribulation. When
he appeared to them in the upper room, then were the disciples
glad when they saw the Lord. But we do need to be careful
of what it is to believe, what we are to believe. And all through the scriptures,
it is very clear. We're not pointed to, do you
believe that your sins are forgiven? Do you believe that you're elect?
Do you believe that you go to heaven when you die, or that
you're one of God's children. The emphasis again and again
is concerning our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. As many as
received him to give them, gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name. And our Lord was
very emphatic on this. This is the work of God, that
ye believe on him whom ye have sent." This was in response to
them asking in John 6, what can we do that we might work the
works of God? And again, it is believing on
the Lord Jesus Christ. And this runs right through the
New Testament. It is the Lord that is lifted
up, his salvation that's set forth. It is what he has done. This was the question that was
asked of the Ethiopian eunuch after he'd heard the sermon from
Isaiah 53. When he desired to be baptized,
the question was, if thou believest, with all thine heart thou mayest. And he answered that, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That was his profession. Our profession is concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will always magnify
him in the hearts of his people. So joy and peace in believing,
that is, it is really so vital. We mentioned already concerning
what Peter says, how Christ is to be made precious, unto you
which believe he is precious. What a contrast to that at the
beginning of Isaiah 53, that in him there is no form nor comeliness
that we should desire him, a root out of dry ground. And we see
the contrast when our Lord was on earth, Some, they believed
him. Some followed. The man born blind
and made to see, he could see the wonderful thing that had
been done. He could see the Lord Jesus Christ. The leaders of the day couldn't.
They derided him. They mocked him. And so Christ
being precious is not just a general thing. It's a special thing.
It's what the Lord has done. And then we have in Romans 10,
that work that is done in the heart, with the heart man believeth,
but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And that's different than that
which is added concerning baptism, because as if the Holy Spirit
is very clear on this, if there is not confession with the mouth,
then there cannot be that in the heart, because the Lord said
of those that were, when he came into Jerusalem, they said, Master,
tell thy disciples to hold their peace. They were praising him.
He said, if they should hold their peace, the very stones
should cry out. And our Lord said, those that
confess me, on earth that I will confess before my Father that
is in heaven and before the angels. And I know what it is to have
been quickened, to be a believer, to be a seeker, and to wrestle
with the fear of man, to not be able before work colleagues
and those round about me to confess the fear of man, brings a snare,
but it's a blessed thing when we want to confess, where it
is a trial to us than not, and we bring that before the Lord,
and he gives us such blessing as takes away the fear of man,
and we're able to speak of what the Lord has done, and to confess
before men. So believer, A believer is one
that is so because of God's work they have been given new spiritual
life and then they have been taught and brought on so that
Christ is precious, they have joy and peace in believing, they
have a measure of assurance, a good hope through grace, a
hope Based upon the Lord Jesus Christ, my hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
rain, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Well, secondly, what is
joined to believing? the ordinances of God's house. There was only two in the Christian
church, and that is baptism and the Lord's Supper. We read of
those in Acts 2, that those that were pricked in the heart, those
who were then brought to repent of what they had done in crucifying
the Lord, those that gladly received the word, were baptized. And being baptized, they then
joined with the Church of God, the Lord added unto the Church,
daily it should be saved, and they continued with the Apostles
in the breaking of bread, in observing the Lord's Supper. Baptism, it sets forth, Christ's
burial and then resurrection. Buried with him by baptism into
death and risen again, in newness of life. It sets forth what Christ
has done at Calvary, it sets forth also what has happened
in the life of a believer as being a new creature in Christ. All things passed away, risen,
all things become new. And the Lord's Supper is a constant
means of communion with the Church together, and in showing forth
the Lord's death till he come. It is done in remembrance of
him, remembrance specifically of his shed blood and of that
sacrifice that is our only home of heaven. It is Christ that
died, yea, risen again, who ascended and sitteth at the right hand
of God." Constant reminders of the Church, not of works, lest
any man should boast, not your work, but Christ's work, his
finished work at Calvary, his blood that was shed. Don't ever
forget that. The Church, in all its sorrows,
in all its knowledge of sin, it's all the times that it's
been chastened, it's been corrected, in all its tribulation it goes
through, is to never lose sight of the Lord Jesus Christ, always
to be. remembering him and always to
be showing forth his death till he come. A constant reminder,
the Lord will come again, will gather his people, will gather
them home to him. I want to look then at that which
is gained by baptism and by implication, that which is lost by not being
baptised. And of course this is spoken
to those that are believers and yet not baptized yet. It's also
a reminder to those that are not believers, not concerned
about it, that you also miss these things as well, because
not able to walk in this path. The first thing I mention is
the answer of a good conscience toward God. The Apostle Peter,
as he writes in 1 Peter 3, he says concerning baptism, the
like figure, that is, of Noah being saved by water, saved in
the ark, the figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save
us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer
of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. In other words, where we know
the will of God and walk in it, our conscience bears witness
that we have done as the Lord wills that we should do. Without
walking in it, we have all the time that consciousness that
we are being disobedient, we're not doing what we should do. So the blessing, what is gained,
is that answer of a good conscience. The second thing that is gained
is a public confession. We said about what our Lord said,
confessing before men and he will confess before the Father
and angels. It's a blessed thing to Be able
to say, come and hear all ye that fear God, and I will tell
what he hath done for my soul. It is a blessed profession, a
confession of what the Lord has done. The devil will say, you
be silent. You don't speak of yourself.
You don't speak of it as pride to do that. No, you're not speaking
of self at all. You're speaking of what the Lord
has done. If someone gave you a very expensive
gift, would you feel that by telling others of how kind this
person had done and given you this gift, that it was somehow
being proud that you'd been honoured in that way, especially you felt
so unworthy of it, and that it shouldn't have been given to
you at all, it was only mercy and kindness that gave it? No.
So, By being baptized, we have this opportunity to bear a public
confession before God and man. Also, as we said, with baptism
as being prerequisite to the Lord's table, what is gained
by baptism is an entrance to the table of God. When the Lord
says, this do in remembrance of me, When I was brought to
be baptised, it wasn't baptism that brought me to concern, or
brought to realise even that I was a right subject to it,
but the Lord had shown himself precious to me. And it was actually
through an article in the Cheering Words, read in the lunch hour
at work, and when I had the blessing of the Lord, what think ye humble
believer, of the bread and the wine-blessed memorials of Christ's
dying love, why do you hesitate to partake?" And I realised that
I could not partake, I could not walk in that way without
baptism first. And so I would say here, the
gain, the blessing of baptism is to be able to walk in obedience
and to show forth the Lord's death, to have that communion
and fellowship, you know, when we gather round the Lord's table,
however varying in age we are, however varying in the time when
we are called, whether we're called just a month ago or whether
we're called years ago, all of our sins were put away by the
same dear man, the Lord Jesus Christ, at the same place, in
the same way, at Calvary, There's no difference. All of the people
of God are one around the table of God in that way. And that's very precious. It
brings a real union, united together. Then there is the admittance
to church fellowship, church membership, to fellowship one
to another. Many things. are bound up with
that church membership, able to serve. If you're a man, then
you can take part in the prayer meetings, you can engage in public
prayer, you can serve in the offices of the diaconate or in
the ministry. Baptism is requisite first, very
necessary before ever that we can do that. If you've got a
Sunday school to teach in the Sunday school, if you're a man
or a woman to teach the young children, you need also to be
one that is obedient and walking in the ways of the Lord to teach
others and to bring others unto Christ as well. Also when the
church meets, the decisions that are made, and of course this
varies, if it is a large church, like the church at Salisbury,
those that are baptised and are joined, they don't automatically
have a lot of responsibility put on them or that joining church
meetings that they've got to make decisions regarding fabric
of the building, all sorts of temporal things or spiritual
things. Other people joining the church
or doctrinal matters Sometimes those bigger churches, they are
dealt with, the diaconate, the eldership, and the pastors, and
the broader church members do not have that responsibility
straight away. Smaller churches will do this,
and some will feel, well, I've joined the church, but now suddenly
I've got all these business things. But rather than look upon it
in that way, You actually have the opportunity to be an influence
for good, to be able to take part in those decisions that
are made in a church. It's for the strengthening and
blessing of the church. What if no one joined the church? What if no one was in membership? How could those decisions be
rightly made? Then there is the, and I would
be very tender on this, but the eligibility to be married to
another believer. A believer should not marry an
unbeliever. If two people, they are both
in the same situation of seeking the Lord, then they are as at
one in that. But if a young lady has not made
profession, if they have not been baptized, then they cannot
expect that a young man that has been baptized as a member
of the church will be able to marry them, because there should
be that oneness in marriage. There should be, and it's not
really enough to say, well, I think they are a believer, I think
they are, have the work of grace in them. We should look upon
it, if they're a real believer, then join with believing comes
baptising. And it's the same with a young
man as well. If you're looking for a godly
wife, are you yourself? Are you baptised? Have you made
provision, profession? And can you look to a young lady
that is joining the ordinances of the Lord's house and expect
that you can ask her out. So again, it is something to
really consider on that. If there are those situations,
of course, where you've got married, both of you have been brought
up under the sound of the truth, one then is called, and the other
may be called later on, and the Lord does that. Sometimes it
may be one's side is not called at all. The scriptures are very
clear on that. Where there's that love, where
there's that union, it is to stay. That marriage is sanctified
by the believing husband or believing wife. They're not to part at
all. And so the situation, it doesn't
mean that there cannot be the situation where there is one
believer and an unbeliever in the household. There's many situations
that that happens. But what I'm speaking of is when
we're setting out, when we're looking for a partner in life,
then we should really think of how we are, where we stand, and
are we truly a believer in every sense of the word? So one of
the benefits of blessings of baptism, public profession, and
clear obedience in every way. The last thing I'll mention is
that ability to effectively witness as a follower of Christ. It's a very embarrassing thing
if we're trying to speak to others about the things of God and they
turn around to us and say, why are you not baptized? If you're trying to speak to
others about obedience, are you obedient? That makes it very
difficult. Certainly if we are a parent
and we are seeking, it's a privilege in a way to be seeking with the
children. To actually say, come, we will
seek the Lord together. We're in the same situation. And that is a different thing. But if we truly do know the Lord,
then may we never listen to Satan or listen to others and say,
well, you don't have to be baptized to be saved. Think of the benefits,
the reason why the Lord has given the ordinance and the benefits
there are and what is lost. by not following the Lord in
this way. What believers gain by baptism,
he that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believeth
not shall be damned. May the Lord sweetly constrain
those of you that know the Lord to be obedient and to give that
godly jealousy and desire for the work of the Lord and his
blessing and help you, those that have the life of God within,
to wait, to not be discouraged, to not give up, to have hope
and wait his set time and be brought to that time when you
do have joy and peace in believing. Hymn, 648. Tune, St. Thomas Pendleton 559. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all now and evermore. Amen.